Tag Archives: Cabernet Franc

Stew it is

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At the start of 2020, the Sichel Family took control of Château Daviaud, a neighbouring property it well knew as one of their longtime growers. With the Château up for sale, the family didn’t want to lose the connection to the vines and land through new owners.

Bordeaux has a cool marine coastal climate, with mild weather and no dry season. Bordeaux reds tend to be lower in alcohol and are slightly lighter in body.

Blend of 45% Merlot, 21% Cab Franc, 19% Cab Sauv, 15% Malbec This was still very young. Warm baking spices on the finish Smooth tannins for a good finish.  A sense of sophistication and elegance. Went very well with homemade stew the first night, and a meat pie the second.

BORDEAUX – CHATEAU DAVIAUD ROUGE 2019

$17.99 regularly $19.99

14% Alcohol

UPC: 03394150053724

Laughing at their Spelling

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But loving their attitude.  Laughing Stock Vineyards is back with another 100% Okangan grown wine.  

A play on imbibe & embezzle, IMBZZL. Big. Bold. Full and quite unique..Lots of Citrus (peachy). Heaven forbid I say it, but pristine.

Syrah dominant, Merlot and Cabernet Franc grapes go into the tank and a juice stabulation technique from Gascony (and now much in vogue in Provence) leaves the juice on lees for 17 days prior to cool fermentation.Nice and full (13.9%). 1st night was with mussels.  Second night an omelette

IMBZZL – RUSE ROSE

$17.99 regularly $19.99

13.9% Alcohol

UPC: 00063657043189

The nearness

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It brings back memories of Sandra Oldfield at Tinhorn Creek (the first carbon neutral winery in Canada) introducing us to Cab Franc. It was a wild and wolly visit, but the wine tasting was calming.  

Since then, the vines has matured and so has the acceptance of BC Cab Franc viticulture.


Bordertown Vineyards and Estate Winery from Osoyoos presents its flagship red wine. This Cabernet Franc has dark berry flavours, dark spice and herbal notes. 


This is an ideal barbecue wine!  It’s well balanced and Bright.

BORDERTOWN – CABERNET FRANC 2019

$25.99

14.9% alcohol

UPC: 00626990282433

The scent of rain on dry earth

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A perfect BC word.  Petrichor  describes the stone-like earthy smell associated with rain. 

The estate vineyard that produces Petrichor wines is nestled in the Southern Okanagan Valley.  Just like the scent released into the air when raindrops meet the ground, Petricor’s Cabernet Merlot will delight your senses.

The Cabernet Merlot is structured and has strong tasting notes of black and red fruits. It pair well with anything carnivores love: beef, lamb, and cheeses. 

PETRICHOR – CABERNET MERLOT

$16.99 regularly $18.99

14% Alcohol

UPC: 00776545600912

Think Berries and Cream

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A light, aromatic crémant made in the traditional method from Cabernet Franc and Merlot. Crunchy berry flavours, fine bubbles, balanced acidity and a rounded finish. Great as an aperitif.

Calvet, one of the oldest French wine brands in the world, was founded in 1818 by Jean-Marie Calvet. He was born in 1789 in Anse, a small village north of Lyon. From his mother, whose family owned vineyards in Tain-l’Hermitage in the Rhône Valley, he inherited a passion for wine, founding Calvet in 1818 to commercialise the family’s wines. As Bordeaux was one of their biggest markets, Jean-Marie and his son Octave built warehouses in Bordeaux, opened an office in 1849, and expanded to Burgundy in 1870, to become the largest wine company in France in the 19th and most of the 20th century. 


All grapes are harvested manually, secondary fermentations (Prise de mousse) occurs in the bottle and there’s a minimum of 12 months of aging on the lees before it’s bottled. The vintage is declared every year, which emphasizes the quality and the typicity of the vintage.

Calvet Brut Rose Cremant

$15.49

12.5% alcohol

In the valley below

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Not a description I would have originally thought of,  but I agree with one reviewer who called it ‘hefty’


Full.  Fresh.  Earthy.  Oh Yeah!


90% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Cabernet Franc, and 6% Petit Verdot


At the feet of the majestic Andes Mountains, lies the Intriga Estate,  planted with vines that average of 30 years and give us world-class grapes and wine with excellent structure.      

Pairs very well with mature cheeses and red meats, as well as game  birds and more fatty meats such as duck, lamb or goat.


CABERNET SAUVIGNON – MONTGRAS INTRIGA MAIPO 2017

$24.99 regularly $27.99

14% Alcohol

UPC: 07804407002895

Great Education

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It’s bold, medium soft, dry, and very smooth. There is a lot of complexity here. Supple and well balanced.


Some of the reviews think that this is still pretty young.  That may be the case, but I wasn’t about to stow it away in the dungeon for 10 years. I just may go back and grab one to put down.  I need to come back to this when I have a much more experienced palate to really understand and appreciate what’s going on with this wine.

We had it with dinner, but I suspect that it would be better appreciated if you are enjoying by itself with friends.

This is made predominantly from Merlot and Cabernet Franc.  Saint-Émilion wines tend to have a rich, mouth-drying tannic structure, but in this case we have small amounts of Carménère,  Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot balancing out the blend.

An under the radar Estate that should be snapped up before it gathers more attention and the price starts to rise.

Vieux Chateau des Combes 2015

$36.99

14.5% Alcohol

Place a warning on the label

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You might wish to drink the whole bottle at one sitting. It’s silky and smooth, but intense.  This is one of Argentina’s tastiest Cab Francs.

 
And, it’s Great Value !!

Lamb chops were the flavours on the plate, fruit forward were the flavours in the mouth.  Terrific balance and complexity.

The vineyards cover 100 hectares of land, 97 of which are implanted with grapes. The main varieties produced are Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Cabernet Franc and Shiraz among the reds; and Chardonnay among the whites. The oldest wine is a Cabernet Sauvignon lot which was planted 41 years ago. The average age of the vineyards is 30 years, ranging from the 5 year-old new blocks to the oldest ones planted in the 70’s.

CABERNET FRANC – SANTA ANA LA MASCOTA 2018
$14.99
14% Alcohol
UPC: 07790762052838

Add a stop here to our trip

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They were voted 2018 New World Winery  of the Year.  

The Goddess (of Wine) introduced us to them last October with the Albarino white – which we truly enjoyed.


And this exceptionally smooth Cab Franc gets pretty close to the top of our list of favourite Cab Francs.  

Starts out soft and gentle and then gets rich in juicy complexity. It goes well with pastas, Or, any Mediterranean style meal.


I certainly hope that the buyers for wine importers bring us more from this Winery.  

I’m also recommending that this be put on the Valley Gurlz Extravaganza Trip.  We could do it on our South American portion of the jaunt.  Uruguay could come after Chile and Argentina.

Garzon Reserva Cabernet Franc Reserva 2018

$17.49

14% Alcohol 

5 on the Plate 5 in the Glass

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Glen Carlou Grand Classique

14.5% Alcohol

$22.99

The components used in Grand Classique, a blend of 25% each of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Malbec, with 13% Merlot and 12% Petit Verdot, are all individually vinified to allow for the development of each one’s unique character. After assemblage the blend is barrel matured in 225L French barriques for 18 months. The mouthfeel is richly textured with a firm yet accessible tannin structure.


Glen Carlou Vineyards is less than 35 minutes’ drive from Cape Town in Paarl, Western Cape, South Africa and covers a 145 ha property.  The vineyard is well known for it’s award winning whites.  (We’ll be going to to try to find some of these.)


You get a full palate that lingers through to a lovely finish.  Full Bodied and well balanced.  Deep rich red colour.  Initially it comes off as spicy and peppery and then settles down into almost an elegance.

We teamed it with a mixed charcuterie, potato salad and coleslaw.


It should have been Raki, instead of Sambuca, with the mixed fruit on frozen yogurt. [Hee Hee]